Set 1 of talk by Lionel Corbett, M.D., at Imagination and Medicine IV: Soul in Body and Nature Conference, held at Pacifica Graduate Institute.

Set 2 of talk by Lionel Corbett, M.D. also available via Internet Archive.

Illness may be an initiation into new consciousness and may force individuation that otherwise might not happen. Illness is a part of being human, but the onset of illness has profound significance for the individual’s life because illness is much more than biological dysfunction. Our subjective experience of illness is as important as its objective physical effects. Illness throws everything into question; it disrupts our assumptions about the world and offers the chance to develop a new consciousness and to reflect on our life. Fortunately, the ability to find meaning in illness often has a positive effect on psychological well-being and the course of the disease. Rather than feeling alienated, the ill person has to find a way to be in the world in a new way. This session will describe ways in which one can find meaning in illness and make sense of what has happened. Dr. Corbett will describe the importance of finding a personal story which articulates a sense of coherence amidst the chaos of illness, a way in which story expresses our distress to others and allows others to witness and be empathic.Audio conversion by the Graduate Research Library at Pacifica Graduate Institute. If interested in Pacifica's degree programs on similar topics, see Pacifica's Graduate Degree Programs page.

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